Actions speak louder than words- DRAGONFORMERS AU
by SearingStain
Summary: Alexis never expected to be running away from her own planet, she didn't expect to have to run away from her own HOME. Aliens have swarmed Earth, claiming it as their own- enslaving her species, killing them... But when she 'befriends' a particular second in command, things start to get better for her travelling group. Perhaps not all Decepticons are ruthless, unsympathetic beings.
1. Chapter 1

The group silently strolled along the edge of the wrecked supermarket.

They had managed to pass by the creatures without them knowing, snaking into the large shop and snatching a stash of food. Currently, the metal monsters were nowhere to be seen, having left the ruins hours ago.

Alexis had regarded the... Cybertronians with curiosity rather than fear when they had crept past them. The two were arguing in their own language- evident from the lashing tails and aggressive snarls. Their red eyes burned into eachother, until the smaller one finally leapt into the sky and flew off, followed by his seething comrade.

Mark hungrily munched on the Galaxy bar, wiping dirt off his face. "Wow, we are so lucky. Chocolate, water and crisps? That's one in a million!"

the girl beside him scowled, "Soon we won't be able to even get that, what? Do you want diabetes?"

"Well," another young-adult cut in, readjusting his cracked glasses, "It helps raise your blood sugar levels, so actually-"

"I didn't ask for a bioligy session," she growled.

Alexis sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Jessica, stop picking on Jamie. Being pessimistic won't help..." The two males at the back silently nodded their agreement.

The girl shook her head without saying anything, earning an overly-sympathetic look from Jamie.

They all suddenly stopped, yelping with shock as the ground shook. They glanced at the other side of the car park- witnessing to of the creatures tear at eachothers' forms.

One was huge and silver, the metal glinting in the sunlight, huge wings sprouted from its spin and its scarlet eyes burned with hatred, fear and rage as it was pinned down by another. The other was larger- not by much though, Its wings flaring with authority. The creature's form was a dull grey, bathed in dust and dried mud.

"Starscream!" It bellowed, snarling, "You will never lead the Deceptions- no matter what you do. Another failed attempt, hmm? Did you really think that a mere fleshling structure could offline me? You are one glitched dragon... A disgrace to your cause."

The smaller one- Starscream, writhed under the other's iron grip, teeth bared. "You just wait, Megatron" he hissed, "Soon I'll have your throne, your soldiers, and you will be dead. You should be arranging the journey back to Cybertron! Not this organic wasteland!" Starscream's voice surprised Alexis, it was not deep and menacing like the other, but rather slightly high pitched and raspy. Then she realised- this was the very cause of their planet's fall- this... This creature and his useless second in command.

Megatron chuckled darkly, poising his razor-sharp claws over the other. "Oh, how you are wrong. It only takes a matter of time before you are bowing before my talons, pleading for your life, whining about how you are my most loyal decepticon..."

And with that, he raked his talons along his second's underbelly, the almost-empty area around the supermarket was suddenly filled with screaming and the grating of metal. Even the human girl looked away from the scene, although her four friends' eyes were glued to it.

As the terrible noise faded, she heard the whooshing of wings. And then, silence...

"Wow..." Rad breathed from behind her, frozen in place. "Look at it..."

Alexis slowly turned around, and saw Starscream limply lying on his back, eyes black and wings rigid. A horrific snarl was etched across his features, and his freaky, long claws were poised in place, locked into the air.

The young adult stared at him, before looking back at the large red tool box held in her hand. Should she help him? She had only brought the supplies to fix cars in need of emergency, although... This was second in command, future cause of the downfall of Earth. Her mechanic instincts suddenly took over, and Alexis bolted towards the fallen creature. He wasn't dead- when they were dead, they became dull. Although, it was hard to tell with this one, since he was already silver. But the fact that his black claws were still their usual colour was a clear clue that he was, indeed, very alive.

"Alexis!" Mark yelled, "What are you doing?! get back here!" She ignored her friends' demands, halting in front of the hulking robot. He was absoloutely massive, far larger than her or any of the others she had seen. Even his razor-sharp talons were longer than her in length!

The pattering of several pairs of footsteps got closer, and eventually, she hauled herself onto Starscream's arm. Rad shouted something, followed by Carlos' reluctant agreement.

She grabbed onto the dips inbetween the metal plating, clambering onto his chest. Damn... Those claw marks were pretty big...

"ALEXIS!" Jessica quietly hissed from below, "What the fuck are you doing?!"

"Saving this scrap heap's ass!" She retorted, unbuckling the tool box.

"It's going to kill you!" Carlos shouted, although his voice wavered with... uncertainty?

Tsk... Scaredy-cat Carlos. She thought, although there was no venom present to it.

"Don't worry!" Alexis called down to them, feeling nauseous for a brief second as she saw how high she was. "He's out cold, he won't wake up."

Rad smiled- a nervous, very Rad-like smile. "Just... Come down... This thing, will kill you as soon as it wakes."

Well, Starscream oughtta have respect for me after this.

Then something occurred to her, and she clicked her fingers, earning looks of confusion from her four friends. "Scrap metal..." She said down to them, "I need it for his plating- There's a scrap yard on the other side of those trees over there. I need lots of metal, and long coils of wire."


	2. Chapter 2

Alexis stepped back, wiping sweat off her forehead. Strangely, the procedure had been harder than she had initially thought. Sliding off of him, the girl thumped onto the ground, placing the toolbox beside her.

"So... What now?" Jessica mumbled, arms crossed, although there was a hint of fear in her eyes as she stared up at the unconscious dragon's face- the frozen snarl.

"We wait for him to wake up," Alexis answered simply.

"What?!" Rad suddenly yelled, clapping a hand over his mouth in horror. He glanced at the unmoving Starscream, before leaning foward and lowering his voice to a whisper. "You can't be serious! Thatcreaturewakes, and we'redead!He'shuge!Hecould literally crushus allwith ease!"

Carlos nodded, nervously sputtering, "Yeah... We should leave- before he wakes up. It's for the best, Alexis..."

"Yeah." Jamie agreed.

"Think about it," Alexis begged, "This one- Starscream clearlyhateshis leader- perhaps we could get him to side with us? It'd be amazing, wouldn't it? We'd have our own dragonformer for protection. If we're lucky enough, he may even be able to give info to the government!"

"Really?" Jessica moaned, "Alexis, stop believing in all these fantasies of yours. The world isgone.There is nothing you can do about it..."

A low humming noise suddenly cut them off, and they all turned their heads to look at the huge SIC beside them. The sound gradually increased in volume, causing the group to step back with fear.

Red eyes blinked to life, whilst long, razor-sharp claws twitched. Starscream heaved himself onto his stomach, letting out a rather strange gurgling growl as his systems started up. "Oh... Fuck..." Rad mumbled. The dragon suddenly whipped his head down in their direction, a long forked black tongue flicking in and out of his mouth.

His lips curled into something of a sneer, and he leaned down, casting them into shadow. "Oh, well would you look at that! Six lonelyfleshlingsstrolling about!"

Alexis placed her hands on her hips, hardly fazed. "You better thank me, Screamer! Fixing that wound of yours, eh?"

Starscream frowned with confusion, staring down at yourself, before darting towards them. He snaked around the group, before coming to a stop in front of the girl. "Hmm... So you have." He huffed hot air into her face. "Still won't stop me from killing you, but good try."

"Wasn't a try," She continued, glaring up at him. "You clearly hate that other one, that's why you tried to kill him, right? Crushing him under a building. We can help you with that."

"Alexis!" Mark hissed.

"Don't see how a mere fleshbag could helpme," He snarled, arrogance practically dripping from his words. "But you are quite impressive, even by my standards. Talking back, coming near me. I will spare you, but if weevermeet again, your lifelesshuskswill be laying at my talons! Got it?"

"Got it," she replied. Starscream opened his vast wings, before shooting into the sky, drifting out of sight.

"Well..." Mark mumbled, "That was rather rude. Didn't even say thank you."

"I honestly don't know what you'd expect," Jessica grumbled, rolling her eyes. "He's a goddamn dragonformer- we're lucky that he even spared us."

"Let's just carry on, I suppose!" Alexis suggested, cracking her fingers, causing disgusted looks as a result.

"Would youstopthat!" The blonde haired girl beside her hissed, "That's utterly gross!"

"Sorry, Jessica."

"Fuckin' idot..."

"Why thank you, thank you very much."

The group set off once again, quietly creeping through the forest that had been beside the supermarket. Their stash of food was still quite full, apart from Mark who seemed to be eatingevery minute.Jessica had growled that they'd starve very soon, unless they found a new shop that was still in one piece. Now that would be a difficult task!

Alexis shoved a large leaf out of the way, cursing quietly as it lurched back and smacked her in the face. A chuckle sounded from behind her, and she scowled, although it faded once a sad sigh made its way to her ears. Looking back over at the culprit, she was surprised to see that it was the blonde- Jessica. "I miss my family..." she murmured, shoulders slumping as if they were a heavy weight. "My brothers... My mum... My dad... They're probably all gone now..."

Alexis reverted her eyes to her feet, guilt engulfing her. Why hadn't she been as bothered? Her father had been on a military mission, and during that time, the Decepticons had attacked, ravaging the villages and cities, and just about everything that had been built by the humans. Her mother was gone- as she had been when she was just a girl. Her younger and older brothers? Who knew where they were? They had been at the park at the time. She missed her best friend... Sari... She missed smiling and laughing at the bar with her, glee overcoming all her anxieties and fears. Where was the girl now? She hoped to god that she was okay...

"Guys," Mark suddenly cut in, taking a seat on a large rock. "This will all be over- I promise. They'll leave our planet, and everything will go back to normal."

"Yeah," Jamie agreed, surprisingly, as he had been quiet for quite a while. "It's going to be okay..."

"Let's stay here for the night," Alexis suddenly suggested, slumping onto a fallen tree's trunk. "We'll find leaves and stuff, and then we can sleep here," she grinned.


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't know how things work in America, so this is set in the UK! Excuse my lack of knowledge haha** , **also, yes, yes I am using a few Bayverse designs, although they're dragons so Starscream doesn't look like a dorito lmao.**

 **This chapter is rated M for character death- just a heads up!**

Sunlight filtered through the leaves, casting bright beams over the figures stalking through the forest. Chilly, morning air stabbed at their bones and pricked at their faces, resulting in rather pinkish hues swathing the facial features. The group was moving again- decidedly leaving earlier than desired due to a disagreement- but leaving nevertheless.

Alexis brushed her brown hair out of her face, expression unusually grim for a change; The 16 year-old was engulfed in her own thoughts, frowning slightly as certain clues suddenly occurred to her. Why _did_ Starscream save her? He had initially said that she was brave (or something similar to that), although she could just _sense_ the lies that had betrayed his words. Would she ever see him again?

 _You're such a loon!_ Her mind abruptly went off, seemingly not by choice. _What's_ wrong _with you?! You have a_ _crush_ _on an_ alien?!

Well... a crush wasn't exactly the way she would describe it. The girl was merely flattered- flattered that someone such as the SIC of the monsters that would destroy her planet, would _admire_ her.

"Earth to Alexis!" Someone suddenly said, and as her eyes adjusted to the hand waving about her face, she couldn't help but release a small "oh..."

"Jeez! Thought you were a zombie for a moment!" Rad exclaimed, although a ghost of a grin flitted across his pale features.

"Sorry..." Alexis apologised, smirking slightly. "I was just thinking about something."

"It's not that alien back there, is it?" Carlos questioned, arms folded over his chest in attempt to warm up.

"No..." She lied

"Okay? What was so important that we suddenly had the urge to shoot you?" Jessica also enquired, crossing her arms, accompanied by a raised eyebrow.

At first, she hadn't caught onto the sarcasm, but it took her a while to realise that it was based upon Rad's previous comment about her being a zombie- she frowned anyway though. "It's just..." She started, attempting to think of a believable excuse. "What are we gonna _do?_ Humanity is doomed..."

"Aw, don't be like that!" Mark cut in, throwing his arms into the air. "Humanity is _not_ doomed! I _promise!_ These aliens will get what they deserve! Period!"

" _Robots_? having _periods?_ Gross!" Carlos jumped in.

"You know what I meant..."

Rad suddenly froze, earning both curious and worried looks. "Shhh," He hushed Alexis as she was about to question him. "Can you hear that?" He whispered, still as a statue.

Indeed- something was _wrong._ The previously tweeting birds were now deadly silent, casting a shadow of danger over the group of teenagers. Even the wind had seemed to halt- the uncanny silence drowning their ears.

 _Wait..._

 _What was that..?_

The low humming noise sounded once again, almost making her shiver.

 _Oh... Mother fu-_

Alexis had no time to finish her curse, screaming out as the creature lunged out of the undergrowth.

Its jaw was agape, carved into a grin as the lethal claws reached out at them. The dragon skidded to a stop a few metres before the group, and they retreated into eachother, flinching away.

The robot's armour was a deep purple, adorned with sharp, silver spines, whilst black horns adorned the back of its head- resembling that of a crown, the creature's talons were the shade of coal and razor sharp- not as long and intimidating as Starscream's, but still devilish enough to make one shudder. Compared to many of the other robots, it was rather small, barely standing over six feet. The wingless Cybertronian stalked towards them with a snake-like sneer, its movements quite similar to that of a big cats'. Red eyes gleamed and flashed at them with renowed-glee, and the humans found themselves whimpering involuntarily.

"What's this? A group of defenseless _fleshlings?_ " It spat the last word as if it were sour, the grin on its face depleting into a scowl of hatred. "Your species has caused so much _trouble-_ you know that, right?"

"Good!" Jessica snarled from beside the 16 year old girl, "As long as it _fucks_ up _all_ your plans!"

"There is no need for explatives, human." It snarled, continuing onward. "I will cause you excruciating

pain that you would _never ever_ imagine possible- not even from Megatron himself..."

The Decepticon lunged foward, letting out an ear-splitting screech.

It was heading _right for_ ** _her..._**

Alexis let out a panicked squeal as something- or _someone,_ suddenly shoved her aside, and then the chorus of agony had started. She rubbed her head, staring up at shock. _Blood_ was woven throughout the forest ground, splattering all over the trees, coating her... The dragon was staring down at something, both satisfaction and distain flashed across his scarlet eyes. Alexis peered down, and almost _screamed..._

 _Oh my god... Oh my god... Oh my god..._

There, laying limp in a pool of blood, was Jamie... His entire bottom half was missing, and she was absolutely mortified to spot it situated beside his unmoving face. She could see the scarlet liquid spurting out, eyes wandering over the intestines spilling out. Horror and apprehension were carved into his features, and she retched, unable to stare for any longer.

Alexis fought at the bile that had threatened to rise up her throat, choking up a few tears. He was dead... Dead... Dead... **dead...** All at the claws of this... This... **MONSTER...**

The teenager averted her gaze back to the dragon before her, gasping as she noticed the blood coating its muzzle, the creature's eyes matching the colour. It was smiling- no, _sneering_ at her, grinning with those horrifyingly sharp teeth of its.

The sudden flurry of wingbeats overhead caused them all to raise their heads to the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

Skyfire landed with a deafening thump, his huge wings blocking the sun out from the newly-wrecked undergrowth. The small Decepticon's head shot up, red optics filled with apprehension as his fang-filled jaw hung slightly at the beast's sheer size. The huge, snow-white Autobot snarled at the pitiful creature, flexing his claws as if he were about to strangle the thing. How dare this pile of scrap harm these humans?! He growled in his head, strangely, he was filled with rage; rage that was unusual for this particular dragon- a dragon that strived to keep his anger under check. But he couldn't help it! This... This fragger harmed one of the humans, even killing one in the process!

Skyfire took a thundering step foward, making it so that he was standing right infront of the terrified earthlings and the bewildered Decepticon. "Is there a problem here?" He growled, tilting his head to the side slightly.

"Of course not!" The purple dragon sneered, suddenly baring his teeth. "I was just about to teach the rest of these disgusting fleshlings a lesson; that's what's wrong, you Autobot scum!"

The shuttle class hissed slightly, and before anybody could react, he brought his huge talon down on the youngling's helm, shattering it into pieces. The snivelling creature died almost instantly, shuddering one last time as energon spurted out of the large wound. Skyfire removed his foreleg from the decapitated dragon.

Poor youngling... Part of his mind whispered with pity. He was only young, the Decepticon ways were the only ones he knew...

No... He killed an innocent life-form...

Skyfire glanced down at the humans, staring down at them with sympathy as they mourned over the loss of their sixth comrade. "Are you alright?" He asked after a moment. Their head whipped up at him, fear evident in their huge eyes. "I won't hurt you... I promise," He added, adding a smile to reassure them.

"How can we trust you?" A girl with brown hair and pale blue eyes asked, her voice thick with loathing. "You're one of them."

"That is correct of you," The white dragon nodded, still smiling. "Although I am an Autobot- That was a Decepticon. We Autobots strive for peace, whilst Decepticons would rather choose the path of destruction and chaos."

"I see..." Another female with lighter brown hair replied, emerald eyes squinted as if in deep thought. "So Decepticons have red eyes, and Autobots have blue eyes?"

"Correct."

"Well, now at least I know which dragons we can pass now," She whispered, face falling as she turned back to the corpse that had once been her friend. A stray tear rolled down her cheek, and the girl almost flushed, wiping it away with the back of her hand just as fast as it had come. "Alexis..." she suddenly muttered after a while, turning to stare up at the snow-white shuttle class. "My name is Alexis. That's Rad, Carlos, Mark and Jessica- My friends."

Skyfire studied the small group for a long while, before inclining his head to them. "My name is Skyfire- And I can keep you safe."


	5. Chapter 5

The creatures circled the scrap yard, the largest of the two growling quietly. " _Where is that slagger_?" He snarled to himself, crimson optics gleaming murderously. Soon enough, the billow of wingbeats overhead signalled that the traitorous second was indeed, arriving.

 _Speak of the devil..._ He thought, adopting human speech.

"Lord Megatron," Starscream oozed, although the Decepticon leader was quite aware of the seeker's sarcasm, and considering how common he did so, Megatron was quite used to it.

"Have you demolished the Autoscum yet?, Starscream?" He inquired, scrutinising Lazerbeak as the robotic bird came to a halt upon Soundwave's broad shoulder.

"Unfortunately _not_ , my liege. The Autobots managed to offline the majority of your forces; although _I_ managed to escape with my life."

"You fool!" Megatron suddenly roared, knocking his second in command onto the ground. "I can't even rely on you, you worthless sycophant!" He kicked the downed flyer to further convey his point, causing Starscream to cry out in a very un-decepticon manner. "Now, pick your useless aft up! I have detected a squadron of fleshlings and their... _Jets_ \- rid of them before I rid of _you!_ "

"As you wish." The slightly smaller Cybertronian hissed, hauling himself off the dry, cracked soil.

And with that, Starscream spread his vast silver wings and lept into the sky. The seeker shot off at an alarming speed, perusing the area around him in search for the disgusting little fleshlings and their inferior machines. He surveyed the skies for a long while, ruby eyes narrowing with irritation. _Megatron's scanners were clearly incorrect, there are no jets here!_ But he was soon proved incorrect himself as a missile seared past his wing, and Starscream growled with annoyance. Here those creatures were- their planet already _doomed,_ and they were _still_ attempting to _fight back?_ What brainless insects! Glancing over his shoulder, the dragon spotted them- six F-22 raptors roaring towards him, gaining quickly.

 _Oh, they want to play now, do they?_ He thought with a sneer, veering around to face them. Oh, how easy this would be! The humans' menial machines would be no match for his superior Cybertronian plating.

Starscream soared toward them, relishing as their aircrafts suddenly shook as the pilots faced the huge seeker. He beat his huge wings, darting enroute as he raked his knife-like talons down the leading jet's exterior. His sharp claws pierced it with ease, slicing through the metal like butter. The raptor promptly burst into flames, plummeting towards the ground below as the pilot yelled out with apprehension. Slamming his back talons onto the next plane, Starscream grinned, moving on to the last four. They attempted to weave around him, proving unsuccessful as the SIC shot them down one-by-one.

 _:All done, my Lord:_ He commed his leader, watching as the jets descended towards the earth.

 _:Good work:_ The Decepticon leader's deep voice praised with a flat tone, _Although I am getting quite impatient with your constant failures. My stoicism is wearing:_

Starscream snorted, severing the link as his mind drifted elsewhere. Should he consider joining the Autobots? He was quite sick of Megatron's ridiculing and his subject's mocking. The idea had crossed his mind a good couple of times, although the seeker still wasn't _sure_ of it. He had been an enemy amongst the Autobots for _years_ and _years_ ; so why would they suddenly accept him as one of their own? But he was tired of it...

 _Do I_ really _want to be leader of the Decepticons- The ruler of Cybertron?_

Starscream was incredibly _infamous_ for bragging about how he would overthrow Megatron and claim their homeplanet for his own, although the idea didn't seem as pleasing as it used to. Because he was _doubting_ himself- Starscream, famous Air commander of the Decepticons, was _doubting_ himself. Perhaps he would really never achieve his goal- was he just chasing an impossible fantasy that would never come true?

Starscream had made up his mind...

Alexis shuffled, staring up at the huge forms before her. There was an uncomfortable silence, the only sound being the five teenagers' heavy breathing.

One of the dragons suddenly snarled, glaring up at his leader. "Prime, you can't be serious!" He exclaimed, cobalt eyes full of aggression. "We already have three humans, we can't-"

"Wait," Rad cut in, eyes narrowing. "You you 'three humans'- _there are more people here?_ "

"Calm yourself, Ironhide," The largest of the mechanical monsters soothed, before turning back to the people staring up at him. "Yes, that is correct. Sam Witwicky, Mikaela Banes, and Carley Spencer."

"Those names seem quite familiar..." Carlos commented, squinting. "Oh yes! Back from school- before the... _Invasion..._ "

"Indeed."

"Are they here now? Where are they?" Rad questioned.

"They are currently-"

"Optimus?" A voice called from somewhere near another door in the base. The familiar face turned the corner, followed closely by two females-

"Sam!" Alexis smiled, happy that the young-adult had managed to survive the apocalypse so far.

"Alexis?" The boy replied with wonder, eyes darting from robots to humans.

"Yup!"

"Wait a second..." A pale girl with dirty blonde hair hissed, sticking her nose into their conversation. "You guys _live_ with these... These... _Aliens_?!"

"Yes..." Mikaela answered, shuffling slightly as she turned to glare at her. "But not really _live_ \- why do you hate them so much, anyway? These are the good guys!"

"We _ALMOST GOT KILLED BY ONE!_ " She bellowed, flinging her hands into the air. "And may I mention that it killed _Jamie_ in the process!"

"Is this true, Skyfire?" Optimus asked, glancing at his snow-white subordinate.

"Yes," was his answer, "I was too late..." He hung his head with shame, if only he had gotten there earlier!

"It's... Okay," Alexis smiled up at him, her unusual bottle-green eyes gleaming. They had not been very close- the group had known Jamie at school, although they rarely socialised; He just wasn't their _type._

"Um, well we can give you a tour- if that helps," Sam suggested, scratching the back of his head. He was attempting to ease everyone, and it was obvious.

"That would be really useful, actually." Rad nodded, placing his hands on his hips with a perplexed expression. "Since we're going to be staying here, _for now_ ," He added.

"I didn't say that _I_ would!" Jessica snarled, seething. "How can we trust them? They're _ALIENS,_ goddammit! You guys are _crazy_!"

To her own personal surprise, Alexis found herself hissing at the blonde with anger, " ** _SHUT UP, WILL YOU?!_** " She screamed, ignoring everybody else's shocked expressions."This whole time you've just been moaning and _bitching_ about _everything_! And I'm sick of it!"

Jessica's icy-blue eyes widened with astonishment, having not expected her friend's sudden outburst. The room was deadly silent, the only sound being that of the rain beginning to patter onto the outer-walls of the Autobot base. "Alexis... I..." She finally whispered, so quiet that it were almost a whimper.

A sudden _bing_ from the huge monitor on the equally large desk caused them all to whip their heads towards it. "What was that..?" Mark questioned, completely still. The medic- known as Ratchet, stomped over to it, rearing onto his hind legs as he read the Cybertronian text on the screen.

"It is a message..." He muttered, expression tight.

"From who?" A small, black and yellow dragon questioned, tail lashing anxiously.

"It is from Starscream."

"Starscream?!" Ironhide roared, stepping foward, although Optimus raised a foreleg to halt him. The black and silver grounder snarled, optics darting from the monitor to his leader. "That pile of scrap only wants to backstab! _Don't_ even acknowledge the slagger!"

"Actually..." The neon green Dragonformer muttered, tapping a key. "He says he wants to discuss... _Personal_ matters- matters about where he stands in the war."

Ironhide snorted disbelievingly.

Ratchet blinked at the teenagers, confusion vaguely written on his features as if he had forgotten they were there. Sam whistled, shaking his head. "Don't trust him man- you remember how he held you _and_ Ironhide off at Mission City- no doubt he'd do so again."

 _Held off Ratchet_ and _Ironhide?_ Alexis thought to herself with horror. _Starscream... Starscream..._ The name seemed familiar- oh right! The _enormous_ silvery-brown dragon that they had encountered before the one in the forest. Her heart ached as she recalled Jamie's death. "We... We know Starscream..." she admitted, wincing at the glances the othrs gave her.

"Yeah," Rad added, "He was getting beaten up by his leader, Mega-something, I think."

Ironhide and Ratchet exchanged incredulous looks.

"I believe we should trust him for this one time," Optimus said. The black and silver dragon beside him looked outraged, although he didn't verabally admit his disagreement. "We have many more soldiers. There are five of us, and one of him."

"Well, _excuse me hombre,_ can't you see that _we_ exist? _No nos ignores!_ " Carlos exclaimed, involuntarily switching between English and Spanish.

"Yeah!" Mark agreed, expression intense. "We're part of the team too now!"

Ironhide growled suddenly, stepping foward. "You have barely even known us for an hour, yet you still insist on jumping into others' battles! Do you even _know_ how dangerous that _slagger_ is?!"

"Ironhide. _stand down_ ," Optimus commanded, flinging a foreleg infront of the grouchy dragon to stop him from moving any further. The prime turned towards them with kind optics. "I understand how you insist to aid us, although as Ironhide has already stated, Starscream is quite a menace; I doubt he would spare a group of younglings when spotted."

"Indeed," Ratchet agreed darkly, "It could be a trick."

 _Oh come on!_ Alexis thought with exasperation. _Why_ would _he attack us? Wouldn't it be a waste of his time? Besides, he_ did _spare us before..._ She imagined the seeker's gleaming red eyes, and she shuddered.

Optimus suddenly inclined his head toward the group below, "Ratchet will stay with you." And with that, he stomped out of the base, closely followed by his four comrades.

Ratchet stared at them for a long moment, eyes flicking from each person to the other. "I will be in the medical bay, do not go anywhere; you might just get something thrown at you."

Sam smiled and put a thumbs up, watching the green medic walk off. Alexis waited until he was out of visual range before she grinned at the others, lowering her voice slightly. "We should follow them..." She suggested.

"Oh, no, no, no!" Sam vigorously shook his head, gesturing wildly, "Ironhide would be _livid._ "

"Yes, _but..._ Starscream actually let us live, so... We're gonna be _fine._ If he's out for revenge, then he'd go for the others, right? _And_ I gotta see some action." Mark added, his lips curved into a smug smile.

"I'm not gonna participate. The last thing I want to happen is to get squashed by some giant robot dragon." Jessica growled, crossing her arms before storming further into the base. "I'm fine thanks!"

Alexis smiled slightly, turning back to the others whom were reluctantly following her.


End file.
